Welcome!

Serving the children of the District of Columbia since 1869

Strong John Thomson Elementary prides itself on being a school for the Arts, Academics and Diversity. Our school was named for a 19th century educator, who started a schoolhouse at the corner of 12th and L NW in 1869. Thomson is proud to be in its 141st year of providing an excellent education for the children of the District of Columbia.

Thomson is located in a newly-renovated building at 1200 L Street, NW in Washington, DC. In the past few years Thomson’s enrollment has soared from 285 students in 2005-2006 to 400 students today.

Our student body is one of the most diverse in the city with a population that is African, African-American, Asian, Caucasian and Hispanic. We have a large number of in-boundary students, many coming from China Town, but we also draw students from all over Washington, DC, via the DCPS school lottery.

IB & Chinese

Strong John Thomson Elementary was the first District of Columbia Public School to introduce Chinese Language Instruction. Our Mandarin program, which originally was offered by a part-time teacher to our youngest students is now taught by two full-time instructors, both are native Mandarin speakers.

Thomson Elementary is a candidate to become the first District of Columbia Public School to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB-PYP). The program is an internationally recognized framework to teach students how to be global citizens. You can read more about the IB here.